Disposable sanitary glove and method of making same



Jan. '15, 1963 s. G. VELONIS ETAL 3,072,914

DISPOSABLE SANITARY GLOVE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed March 3. 1959INVENTOR sm/vm T/s 05am: WFLM HA'RBA'R ssully 7, HENRY RIO-M8 ATTORNEYS3,072,914 Patented Jan. 15, 1963 AND METHOD This invention relates todisposable moisture-proof and otherwise impervious, sanitary gloves.

Physicians, surgeons, nurses and others-have need for a disposable glovewhich can be thrown away or destroyed after a single use, for clinicalexamination and similar purposes and in general where for sanitary orother reasons direct hand contact is undesirable.

Rubber gloves heretofore used for these purposes are so costly that itis uneconomical to dispose of them after only one use and they must bewashed or otherwise cleaned and for clinical use they must be sterilizedeach time they are used. Furthermore, rubber gloves are relativelythick, reducing tactile sensitivity, and are used with considerablediscomfort by individuals who have an allergy sensitivity to rubber orthe materials used in its compounding. A relatively tight fit isnecessary with rubber gloves if satisfactory tactile properties are tobe secured, resulting in a measure of discomfort to the user and somedifficulty in putting them on and taking them off.

It is an object of this invention to provide low-cost, lightweight,sterile, disposable gloves. It is a further object to provide gloveswhich are thin, soft, flexible, nontoxic, non-porous, and which providea high degree of touch sensitivity through the gloves. It is a stillfurther object of this invention to provide gloves which are nontacky,which will not block in storage, and which can be pulled on and removedeasily.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be madeapparent in the disclosures of the accompanying drawing and in thefollowing specification and claims.

Generally stated the above objects are attained by making the glove in aseamless form from a thin fim of synthetic resinous material, providingthe inner and outer surfaces of the glove with prescribed surfacecharacteristics and so dimensioning the glove that its wrist or cuffportion represents its widest transverse dimension. These and furtherdesirable or essential limitations of form and structure are hereinafterdescribed in detail.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is a generally perspective view of a glove having a thumb and twofinger stalls and embodying the invention, parts being broken away;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a clipping form for producing the glove of FlG.1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are generally perspective views showing modifications ofthe form shape;

PEG. 5 is a fragmentary diagrammatical cross sectional view of the glovefilm and the surface portion of the form with the dimensions greatlymagnified;

FIG. 6 is a generally perspective view of an alternative type of form;and

FIG. 7 is a view on a smaller scale of a five stall dipping form.

Referring to FIG. 1 the glove is, for illustrative purposes, shown as aseamless three fingered glove, as generally indicated at 1%, comprisinga thimb stall 11, a first or index finger stall 12, a second fingerstall 13, and a skirt portion 15.

The glove is formed of a flexible film of fused plasticized syntheticresin having a relatively fine, overall, uneven outer surface, asgenerally indicated at 17, and a relatively coarse, overall, uneveninner surface, as generally indicated at 13, with an average filmthickness of substantially 2 to 3 mils. The ratio of the peripheraldimension of the free edge of the skirt portion 15 to the distancebetween that edge and the base of the finger 'stalls 111213 is between 3and 5 to 1, preferably and as shown this ratio is approximately 4.6to 1. Preferably also the outer surface of the glove is provided with anannular rib 16 spaced a short distance from the free edge of the skirt.

The preferred material for the glove is plasticized polyvinyl chlorideresin, but will be understood that other resinous compositions ofcomparable physical properties may be used.

In general the glove is formed by applying a thin coating of a suitableliquid solution, dispersion or latex to a form or mold, drying or fusingthe coating, as required, and then stripping the glove inside out fromthe form or mold.

In carrying out the preferred method of making the glove of theinvention and providing the structural features above set forth adipping form, as generally indicated at 2d, is made from a suitablematerial, such as sheet aluminum of about Ms inch thickness having aportion 21 for attaching the form to conventional dippinginstrumentalities, and conforming beyond a normal dipping line 9.2 tothe form of the glove generally shown in FIG. 1. The form thus includesportions 23, 24, 25 forming, respectively, the three finger stalls 11,12 and 13, and portion 26 forming the skirt portion 15. The edges 28 ofthe form are carefully rounded and a groove 27 provided, adjacent thedip line 22, to form the bead 16 on the skirt of the glove.

To form the fine irregular surface 17 on the outer surface of the glovethe surface of the form 29 is first polished and then finely roughenedas by caustic etching, vapor blasting, anodizing or by a combination ofthese procedures or by other suitable methods which do not impart adegree of roughness tending to produce areas of porosity and lowstrength in the film cast thereon. If the form 20 is made of aluminum asatisfactory etch may be obtained by immersing the polished form in a 5%sodium hydroxide solution for about 15 minutes. This etched or otherwisefinely roughened surface of the form is diagrammatically indicated at 29in FIG. 5.

The form 20 is then dipped in a low viscosity deaerated plastisol, thepolyvinyl chloride being dispersed in any of the well known plasticizersused for the purpose. For gloves intended for clinical use theplasticizers should be such as are approved as non-toxic by the Food andDrug Administration. The viscosity of the plastisol should be about 1200cps. or less, at 20 C. to keep drainage time to a minimum for economicreasons, but higher viscosity up to or somewhat above 3000 cps. can beused by increasing the drain time. Using plastisols the desired coarseirregular overall inner surface 18 of the glove is secured by making theparticle size of a minor portion of the granular resin particles in thedispersion of a particle diameter greater than the average thickness ofthe glove forming film. When the plastisol is to be cast and fused onthe form to about a 2 to 3 mil average film thickness the major portionof the dispersed resin particles should be of approximately thatdiameter or less together with a predetermined minor percentage ofparticles of about 5 mils in diameter, sufficient in quantity anddistribution to provide the coarse, irregular surface 18, where theplastisol is cast and fused to about a 2 to 3 mil average filmthickness. \Plastisol suitable for the purposes of the invention iscommercially available from the Borden Co.

3 Chemical Division under the trade name Raslac 2336- 360.

The form 20 is dipped in the plastisol to a depth generally indicated bythe line 22, representing the desired edge of the skirt of the finishedglove, removed from the plastisol and allowed to drain for a period oftime sufiicient to leave an average thickness of plastisol of 2 to 3mils on the form. The so-coated form is then heated to a temperature ofabout 450 F. for a period of 3 to 4 minutes to fuse the dispersed resinof the plastisol and to simultaneously effect the incorporation of theplasticizin-g dispersion medium into the resin. The form isthen cooledto about 100 F. to permit stripping of the glove from the form. Lower orhigher fusing temperatures may, of course, be employed for appropriatelylonger or shorter periods if desired. Since the surface roughening 29 ofthe form is fine and insuflicient to accommodate a substantial flow ofthe plasticized resin into the surface interstices of the form, thelarger particles of resin fuse to impart a relatively coarsecharacterizing overall roughness to the outer surface of the film on theform, as diagrammatically shown at 18 in FIG. 5. As previouslymentioned, the glove is turned inside out as the glove is stripped fromthe form, thus the outer surface 18 of the film on the form becomes theinner surface of the glove and the surface 17 cast against the etchedsurface of the form becomes the outer surface of the glove and thisrelation of the surfaces is preferably maintained in the use of theglove.

The shape and proportions of the glove of the invention and ther-oughening of the inner and outer surfaces of the glove provideimportant advantages. The length of the glove is preferably such as toreach to the users wrist and as is apparent in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fingerstalls 11, 12 and 13 flare relatively widely from the tips to the baseof the fingers and this flaring is carried to the edge of the skirt 15.This construction results in a relatively loose, drape fit, providingroom for housing the metacarpal portion of the hand, and the fourth andfifth fingers pressed lightly against the palm, and makes for easyinsertion of the hand into the glove with the thumb and first and secondfingers in their proper stall-s. This loose fit and in particular thewide flare of the skirt portion furthermore makes for easy removal ofthe glove after use-one or two quick flicks of the hand and wrist ibeingusually sufficient to remove the glove without assistance from the otherhand and the glove may be thus removed directly into a suitable disposalreceptacle, a substantial hygenic advantage particularly where the glovehas been used for physical examination or surgical purposes. In anyevent the skirt portion may be thus turned inside out over the fingersand the glove removed without contamination.

The above described inner and outer surface characteristics of the glovemake possible the above advantages of the loose or drape fit withoutsacrifice or tactile sensitivity-tactile sensitivity in fact beingenhanced over gloves made of thicker materials frequently used forsanitary glove purposes.

The roughening 18 of the interior surface of the glove approximates thatof the skin at the tips of the fingers and when the gloved fingers arepressed against a surface being examined, or an article being grasped,the thin film of the glove is immobilized with respect to the fingers bythe cooperating roughness at the interface'of the film and fingers,while the roughness 17. of the outer surface prevents unintentionalslipping of the outer surface of the glove over the surface beingcontacted. At the same time the texture 17 of the outer surface is. ofsuch minutely fine grain that itfeels extremely soft and uniform whenapplied toa sensitive surface of the body.

In contrast with gloves formed of resilient materials such. as rubber,where a stretched, tight fit is in large measurerelied on to achievesensitivity, the localized non-slipping contact through the thinfiexible film, relatively loosely drape-fitted over the hand, whichcharacterizes the glove of the invention, provides the desiredsensitivity and at the same time is an important factor in securing theadded hygenic and economic advantages of a single use article.

In addition to the function played by the described roughened surfacesof the glove such surfaces prevent the undesirable tendency, known asblocking, of the film surfaces to adhere together in packaging andstorage of the gloves, and makes unnecessary the resort to dusting withtalc or the use of other parting materials to prevent blocking. Thedescribed manner of effecting the roughening of the surfaces furtherminimizes the tendency to the formation of pin holes in the cast film.The gloves may be sterilized, before or after packaging, by means ofsteam, chemical or other acceptable sterilizing methods.

The head 16 gives a slight increase in stiffness adjacent the edge ofthe skirt portion facilitating the flip-off removal of the glove, asabove described, but, while preferable, may be omitted.

Without sacrificing the desirable skirt width and length and theresulting drape characteristics, the skirt portion of the glove may, ifdesired, be given a curved edge, with a saving in glove material andweight, by bending the form about an axis, or axes, inclined from theplane of the form in a direction to reduce the dipping depth of the sideportions of the form. For these purposes the form may be bent into the Sor fan shape shown respectively in FIGS. 3 and 4, by way of example.

While for most purposes the three stall glove of FIG. 1 is adequate andpreferable, the various advantageous constructional features of theinvention may be incorporateed in a glove having a less or greaternumber of finger stalls. A dipping form for dipping a glove with a fullcomplement of finger stalls and embodying the invention is shown at 38in FlG. 7.

While a simple dipping procedure as described is preferred, the materialmay be sprayed on the forms of FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 if desired.

In FIG. 6 is shown an alternative type of form by which a glove morenearly approximating hand shape may be produced. As shown in FIG. 6 theform, which may be solid or hollow in cross section, comprises a domeshaped body portion 30 which includes a portion 32 on which the skirtportion of the glove is formed, and from which tapering, generallycylindrical stall forming portions 33, 34- and 35 extend, the severalportions being dimensioned to provide a glove generally proportioned aspreviously described. The surface of the form of FIG. 6 is etched, orotherwise finely roughened as indicated at 36, in the manner and for thepurposes previously described and the plastisol or other material may beapplied thereto by dipping, spraying or pouring. The form of FIG. 6 hasthe advantage that it may be spun about its central axis, indicated atA, to speed the removal of excess material by a combination of gravityand centrifugal forces.

In forms of the type shown in FIG. 6 the body portion 30 may be flat ordomed and may be elliptical or circular in outline. With forms of thistype the ratio of the peripheral distance around the edge of the skirtto the distance from theb ase of the finger stalls to the skirt edge maybe as high as 11 to 1, preferably in the range between 9 and 10 to 1.

The glove may also be cast on the inside of a suitably shaped hollowform by a conventional spraying or pourin, pour-out procedure.

While for reasons of simplicity, cost and ease of handling, plastisol isthe preferred form of material, the glove may be similarly cast ordipped from solutions or latices of polyvinyl chloride or other suitableresins. Since in these latter forms the resin and plasticizers areeither in solution in acommon solvent or dispersed in water as a commondispersing agent, the roughening of the inner glove surface cannot beeasily effected by variations .in the particle size of the resinparticles. The desired roughening of the inner surface may in such casebe obtained by dispersing in the solution or latex suitably sizedparticles of an inert insoluble granular material such as sand, pumice,thermoset resin particles, or other suitable materials. Such inertgranular materials may be dispersed in the plastisol in lieu of theoversized resin particles.

What is claimed is:

1. A seamless disposable sanitary glove formed of flexible, impervious,plasticized polyvinyl chloride film of an average film thickness of 2 to3 mils and having incorporated and substantially uniformly distributedtherein particles of an inert material of a size greater than saidaverage thickness and not substantially exceeding 5 mils.

2. A seamless disposable sanitary glove formed of flexible, impervious,plasticized polyvinyl chloride film of an average film thickness of 2 to3 mils and having incorporated and substantially uniformly distributedtherein particles of polyvinyl chloride of a size greater than saidaverage thickness and not substantially exceeding 5 mils.

3. A seamless disposable sanitary glove formed of flexible, impervious,plasticized polyvinyl chloride film of an average film thickness of 2 to3 mils and having incorporated and substantially uniformly distributedtherein coalesced particles of polyvinyl chloride of a size greater thansaid average thickness and not substantially exceeding 5 mils, therebyimparting a coarse roughness to the inner surface of the glove, saidglove having a pinrality of finger receiving stalls and a skirt portionfrom which the stalls extend, said skirt portion being of a length toreach approximately to the Wrist of the wearer and flaring outwardlyfrom the base of the finger stalls to a free edge, the ratio of theperipheral dimension of said edge to the distance between said edge andthe base of the stalls being substantially 4.6 to 1 to provide a looselydraped covering for the metacarpal portion of the hand of the wearer,the outer surface of the glove being finely roughened to preventblocking and, in cooperation with the roughness of the outer surface ofthe glove, to inhibit movement of the film relative to the fingers andunintentional movement relative to a surface engaged by the outersurface of the glove in use.

4. A glove as in claim 3 and provided on its inner surface adjacent theedge of the skirt portion with a stiffening rib.

5. A glove as in claim 3 the ratio of the peripheral dimension of saidedge to the distance between said edge and the base of the stalls beingin the range between 9 and 10 to 1.

6. A sanitary glove formed of a thin, flexible, impervious, syntheticplastic film having a plurality of seamless finger receiving stalls anda generally covered metacarpal receiving chamber of increasing peripheryfrom the base of said stalls to its outer edge, the ratio of theperipheral dimension of said edge to the distance from said edge to thebase of said stalls being not less than 3 to 1 and not greater than 11to 1, the inner and outer surfaces of the glove being finely roughenedto prevent blocking and to inhibit movement of the film relative to thefingers of the wearer and unintentional movement relative to a surfaceengaged by the outer surface of the glove in use.

7. A sanitary glove comprising a film of flexible, impervious, syntheticplastic material having an overall, finely roughened outer surface, saidglove including a plurality of seamless finger receiving stalls and ametacarpal receiving portion from which the stalls extend, said filmhaving incorporated therein substantially uniformly distributedparticles of said synthetic plastic material of a size greater than theaverage thickness of said film.

8. A sanitary glove as set forth in claim 7 in which said metacarpalreceiving portion is of increasing peripheral size from the base of saidstalls to its outer edge.

9. A sanitary glove formed of flexible, impervious, plas ticizedpolyvinyl chloride film having an overall finely roughened surface, saidfilm having incorporated therein substantially uniformly distributedparticles of polyvinyl chloride of a size greater than the averagethickness of said film, said glove including a plurality of seamlessfinger-receiving stalls and a metacarpal receiving portion from whichthe stalls extend.

10. A sanitary glove formed of a flexible, impervious, synthetic plasticfilm, said film having incorporated therein substantially uniformlydistributed particles of inert ma terial of a size greater than theaverage thickness of the film.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,941,200 Chapman et a1. Dec. 26, 1933 1,945,256 Clarke Jan. 30, 19342,123,343 Rightsell July 12, 1938 2,438,901 Coxe Apr. 6, 1948 2,637,031Friedman May 5, 1953 2,838,759 Tassie June 17, 1958 2,847,676 Scott Aug.19, 1958' 2,873,450 Brodeur Feb. 17, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 141,919Australia July 2, 1951

1. A SEAMLESS DISPOSABLE SANITARY GLOVE FORMED OF FLEXIBLE, IMPERIVOUS,PLASTICIZED POLYVINYL CHLORIDE FILM OF AN AVERAGE FILM THICKNESS TOF 2TLO 3 MILS AND HAVING INCORPORATED AND SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLYDISTRIBUTED THEREIN PARTICLES OF AN INERT MATERIIAL OF A SIZE GREATERTHAN SAID AVERAGE THICKNESS AND NOT SUBSTANTIALLY EXCEEDING 3 MILS.